john wesley harding - 2:58
as i went out one morning - 2:49
i dreamed i saw st. augustine - 3:53
all along the watchtower - 2:31
the ballad of frankie lee and judas priest - 5:35
drifter's escape - 2:52
dear landlord - 3:16
i am a lonesome hobo - 3:19
i pity the poor immigrant - 4:12
the wicked messenger - 2:02
down along the cove - 2:23
i'll be your baby tonight - 2:34

﻿Leave it to Bob Dylan to follow three of the most pioneering electric-based albums in history by again deviating from the norm and straying from expectation

Hinting at a return to his folk roots and firmly pointing toward the field that became country rock, John Wesley Harding breathes with relief and freshness, the sound of an artist re-engaging with the past, forging a future, and stepping into new realms after recovering from an accident and unimaginable pressure

Recorded around the same time as the sessions that yielded The Basement Tapes, John Wesley Harding came together after just three studio sessions and approximately 12 hours of time

While many specifics are shrouded in mystery, a majority of songs are tied to Biblical figures, ominous matters, and morality themes

Making not just a clear sonic break from his most recent efforts, but a songwriting transformation as well, Dylan embraces a strict economy of scale, dropping beat-poetry techniques in favor of stanzas that waste no words and progress narratives at every turn

It’s as if the Bard is saying that truth is spoken here

Few, if any artists, have captured the American myth and its population of immigrants, drifters, and outlaws with such convincing scope and parabolic sagacity